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The American rapper's 2008 'Grammy Worn' Nike
Air Yeezy samples were prototypes for a line developed by West
and Mark Smith for Nike. They were revealed during West's
performance at the 2008 Grammy Awards.
The buyer was sneaker investing platform RARES, which paid the
highest publicly recorded price for the pair. RARES is a leader
in fractional ownership, allowing users to invest in sneakers by
buying and trading shares in them.
The private sale shattered the current auction record for
sneakers, far above the $560,000 that Sotheby's scored in May
2020 for a pair of 1985 Air Jordan 1's, designed for and worn by
basketball player Michael Jordan.
The black leather, size 12 Nike Air Yeezy 1 Prototypes have a
Yeezy forefoot strap and the brand's signature Y medallion lace
locks in pink.
They were put up for sale at Sotheby's by New York collector
Ryan Chang.
West wore them for his emotional performances of "Hey Mama" and
"Stronger" at the 2008 Grammy Awards, setting off a social media
frenzy among fashionistas.
West ended his collaboration with Nike in 2013 and took the
brand to Adidas, where the Yeezy brand of sneakers brought in an
estimated $1.7 billion in sales in 2020, according to Forbes.
"Our goal in purchasing such an iconic shoe - and a piece of
history - is to increase accessibility and empower the
communities that birthed sneaker culture with the tools to gain
financial freedom through RARES," said Gerome Sapp, RARES
co-founder and CEO.
Brahm Wachter, Sotheby's head of streetwear and modern
collectables, said, "The sale speaks volumes of Kanye's legacy
as one of the most influential clothing and sneaker designers of
our time."
(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York; editing by Diane
Craft)
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